For weeks now, milk has been scarce across Moroccan markets, due to a sharp drop in production nationally, which some sectoral sources attribute to the rising cost of cattle fodder.
Small retailers and shop owners have seen their weekly deliveries shrink in size compared to months before, where they could choose the amount of liters to order freely, and from all brands in the sector.
Today, however, they find themselves compelled to producer-imposed quantities, which they say does not plenish the demand.
In some Moroccan supermarkets, signs have been put up determining the number of liters allowed per customer, which varies from one region to the other.
Citizens have also been complaining about the absence and scarcity of milk from shops.
A number of social media users shared pictures of empty milk shelves, as questions about the reasons for the current situation remained unanswered.
“The problem with this scarcity starts with farms, specifically the small ones,” President of the Moroccan Federation of Consumer Rights Bouazza Kharrati tells Hespress EN.
To the expert, “the scarcity of this important product is amplified by the weak profit margins that the sector allows for small farmers, who have now been affected by the rising cost of milk production.”
During the high lactation season, milk is abundant among farmers, who sell to distributors comfortably at MAD 3, says Kharrati, but during the low lactation season, farmers usually up their price to MAD 5. A price that has become insignificant in light of an unprecedented drought and lasting inflation.
Small farmers are bearing the cost of the expensive milk production process, but are struggling to recoup a decent profit, which Kharrati accredits to “misguided agricultural policy, dating back to the previous government.”
“Many farmers have decided to switch from milk production to more profitable farming, namely red fruits, following government guidelines from the Green Morocco plan,” said the federation president.
According to Kharrati, many milk collecting centers have already closed and farmers ceased activity, to focus on fruits designated for export, as the government continues to ignore the ailments of the milk production sector.
Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said that the weak milk supply is affected by a number of factors, some of which are seasonal, and others related to the scarcity of precipitation and pastures.
Baitas added during a press briefing on Thursday that the government met with professionals in an attempt to intervene to keep this substance at usual availability levels.
Mohamed Seddiqi, Minister of Agriculture previously revealed that there are many measures that will be implemented in the near future to maintain the balance of the milk production chain in Morocco.
The minister highlighted that all efforts are focused on ensuring that milk prices in the market do not witness any change, through measures that structure the chain, including subsidizing compound fodder and supporting local production and small farmers.
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